In A Mixed School
by Stars of Gold
Summary: The tales of Jill and Eustace in their Mixed School, Experiment House.
1. Chapter 1

In A Mixed School

by

Stars of Gold

Jill Pole had never quite been an ordinary girl. Even when she was a mere child, she preferred sitting and reading rather than dancing and twirling around in pretty dresses. She was quiet with an unknown kind side whilst other little girls were playful and joyous. Even so, she had a strangely attractive aura about her. People just had to stop and look at the uniqueness of the girl, the strange way she carried herself – as if she were royalty, yet in a down-to-earth sort of way. Therefore, it was quite peculiar that a group of bullies, simply called Them at Experiment House, her school, could easily make this calm and collected girl burst out in tears.

The term she'd turned 11, at Experiment House, Jill had changed. She was fun and easy to get close to. She made so many new friends, but never lost her unique air of a down-to-earth royal.

She was so unique, though not immensely beautiful, that the day she'd turned 14, every boy in school had an eye on her.

--

Eustace Scrubb was yet another child that had suffered a change in attitude. One term, he was mean and selfish, always sucking up to Them; and the next, he was an all-round nice guy, helping everyone he could and standing up to Them about everything he could get his hands on.

--

Naturally, the two were best friends, and almost inseperable in school. Both were at the top of Experiment House's Top Ten Most Popular People, though they never quite noticed. The boys and girls infatuated by one were intimidated by the other, and always went unnoticed by the two.

One fine day, Jill was stuck in her room, and didn't go to class. "I say," Harry Reese had said, looking at Scrubb expectantly. "Where's Pole?" Scrubb shrugged. "Cold. She spent a whole lot of time in the rain yesterday. Told her to stay in bed this morning. She tried to refuse, but thanks to Fern here," He gestured to Alyson Fern, sitting at her seat. "Pole's lying in bed right now, downing some chicken soup." Fern frowned. "Soup? She didn't have any soup when I left."

All eyes turned to Scrubb, all their owners coming to the same conclusion as he turned a slight shade of pink, knowing what was about to happen. "Scrubb!" Fern gasped. "You didn't – you didn't make soup for her, did you?" Her tone was amazed, and mutters broke out amongst the crowd watching as Scrubb turned red guiltily.

Thankfully for Scrubb, the teacher walked in at that very moment, and everybody slid back into their seats whilst the teacher told the class monitor to take attendance and started class.

--

After classes had ended, Scrubb disappeared mysteriously, successfully evading the hordes of love-struck girls, though unknown to him, who were waiting to ambush the poor boy.

_Knock. Knock._

"Come in," A voice, sounding horribly sick, drifted through the crack under the door. Scrubb obliged, closing the door softly behind him. "Jill? Feeling any better?" He asked sympathetically. "No. I feel like I've been chased by giants and their hunting dogs," She replied, her voice muffled by the pillow. Eustace chuckled softly.

"It can't be that bad, Jill. Just hang in there. Aslan, whoever he is in our world, is here to help you." Jill tried, and almost succeeded, to pull her head far away from the pillow. "Aslan? Where?" She asked excitedly; or, at least, as excitedly as she could that day. Eustace blinked. "He's here in spirit, Pole, that's what I meant." He said gently, trying very hard not to laugh.

"Oh, poo, then." Jill said rather rudely, falling back into the pillow. Eustace smiled at her fondly. "Well, you'd better get some rest. And just because you're sick doesn't mean that I'll stay here with you. I've got schoolwork to do."

"What? But Eustace…!" Jill whined, grabbing hold of his hand before he left. Eustace paused, contemplating. "Well…" He began hesitantly. "Alright, then. I suppose I could do schoolwork in here." He muttered, sitting down on the floor.

"Hurray! Thanks, Eustace. It's so _boring_ in here all alone while you lot are up and about. I'd almost rather be in classes than lie here all alone with nothing to do." Eustace smiled. "I hear you, Jill, I hear you. There was once, when I was a little kid, my parents forced me to go to kindergarten even though I'd had a fever and all." Jill's eyes lighted up. "Oh, do do do tell!"

And hence, the two teens spent the whole afternoon talking homework and sickness forgotten.

--

Outside, pressing her ear to the door, Alyson Fern grinned.

* * *

Um. Yeah. This is part of a series of oneshots I'm hoping to write, all taking place in Experiment House. Review, please.


	2. Chapter 2

In A Mixed School

by

Stars of Gold

Jill Pole was crying. Why? She'd caught sight of her best friend, Eustace Scrubb, sitting behind the Gym with an arm around a girl, and a very pretty girl at that. The mere image of a boy and a girl spending time together outside classes was enough to cause scandalous rumours, let alone with some sort of indication of a romantic relationship. Jill had gasped, and dropped the book she'd been carrying, running off to the dorms with tears in her eyes. "Oh, bother," She'd muttered. "I shan't cry! I shan't, I shan't, I shan't!"

She'd burst out into tears anyway.

And now, Eustace – no, _Scrubb_ – was at the door, trying to talk to Jill. "But honestly, Jill, there's nothing between Jackson and I! Please, Jill, you have to believe me!" Jill had almost given in to this pleading, when a new voice said, "Oh, go jump in a lake or something, Scrubb!" Jill almost smiled, for her roommate, Alyson Fern, was helping her. "Look, Scrubb, she obviously needs girl talk. With a girl, Scrubb. Not you."

"But Fern, I – "

"NO, Scrubb. You will go and do something else, DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"Yes, Fern."

"Good. Now LEAVE."

"Yes, Fern."

Thumping footsteps. That soon came to a halt. "Fern?"

"WHA-A-AT?"

"Could you tell her – tell her that I swear, in Aslan's name, that it wasn't what it seemed. She – She'll understand."

"Alright, alright, now go! Shoo!" The footsteps returned, and soon faded altogether. Fern heaved a sigh, and opened the door to her shared room with Jill.

--

In actuality, Eustace had merely been advising the girl, Rose Jackson, on how to ask her crush out. She had originally been crying her eyes out behind the gym, figuring out what to do (for she was a timid sort of person) when Eustace came across the poor girl and obviously tried to comfort her.

And now, for doing a good deed, the poor boy was being punished.

--

"Now, Pole," Fern said kindly. "What's wrong? What happened?"

For a while, only sobs filled the room. But Fern soon fixed that. She helped Jill up and placed a cup of hot chocolate into her hands. After a few sips of the warm drink, Jill shakily began her tale.

Fern nodded understandingly, and patted Jill on the back sympathetically. "Well, Pole, I'm quite sorry, but I really think you should at least hear the poor lad out. He swears in the name of – er, what was it? Ah, yes – Aslan that it wasn't what you thought."

"In – In the name of A-Aslan?" Jill gasped. Eustace – _Scrubb_ – would never reveal the name of their special Lion Guardian to a normal person just like that, unless…

Fern shrugged. "Doesn't make any sense to me, but I guess you and Scrubb have your own ways. You two've always been somewhat caught up in your own little world."

"You wouldn't believe how caught up we were." Jill laughed quietly. Fern narrowed her eyes, but let it drop. "Anyway, I guess that if you're feeling jealous over Scrubb, you've probably started to fancy him, eh?"

Jill spluttered. "_Me_? Fancy _Scrubb_?" She gave Fern an incredulous look. "Well, you two do spend a lot of time with each other…" Fern said, her eyes wide with innocence. Jill huffed in annoyance and glared at Fern. "Fern, I told you, Scrubb and I are _just friends_." Her glare didn't seem to affect Fern, for she kept on going, saying, "Oh really? Then why'd you get so worked up about Scrubb and that girl?"

Jill huffed and turned away from Fern's teasing green eyes.

--

Eustace sighed as he twirled the rose in his hands. "Um, Scrubb?" said a timid voice. "Hmm?" He turned and saw Rose Jackson wringing her hands nervously. "I – I'm sorry I muffed your r-relationship with your g-girlfriend," She stuttered. Scrubb blinked. "Girlfriend? …Oh. You must mean Pole, then. No, she's not my girlfriend, she's my best friend." Jackson cocked her head. "Is she a good friend?" Eustace smiled at her, but she could see that it wasn't quite genuine. "Yes, Jackson, a very good friend indeed…"

"Then why'd she jump to a conclusion?" Jackson asked. Eustace shrugged. "I guess she's just being Pole. It's one of the things I rather like about her."

"Why?"

"It proves she isn't completely perfect, which makes her a normal human being, yeah?"

"…Yeah, I guess you're right."

"So, Jackson, how's it going with your little problem, then?" Jackson blushed. "Well…I tried it, and…" She trailed off into a giggle. Eustace smiled, but there was some element of sadness in it. "Good for you, then. Just remember your friends, Jackson. Don't spend too much time on your new interest. Be sure to spend at least one small portion of the day with your friends. Got that, Jackson?" The girl nodded furiously. One always treasured advice from upperclassmen.

* * *

Uh, yeah, I kinda muffed the first chapter. Whoops. Anyway, here's the second. It's not finished, but I really have to go to sleep now, it's 12:05, and I have school tomorrow.

Toodles,

Stars of Gold


	3. Chapter 3

In A Mixed School

by

Stars of Gold

"Pole…" Eustace tried to catch her attention.

"Scrubb." She never looked away from the teacher. "How many times do I have to say that I'm sorry?" She still refused to make eye contact.

"Don't bother. Unless you can prove that you really didn't mean what she thinks she saw, she is not going to believe you." Fern provided chirpily, a little louder than expected. Eustace's eyes widened. "Fern, what the ruddy hell do you think you're doing?" He hissed. "We're in class!" Fern shrugged. "The teacher is practically deaf, Scrubb. I doubt he's going to – "

"_Will the both of you just keep quiet?_" Jill hissed, rather unexpectedly. "Pole," The teacher, Mr. Barton, said. "Fern and Scrubb," He glared at them. "Talking, in my class? I expected more from you, especially you, Fern. You're one of the most well-behaved students in the school." He sighed. "I suppose I could let you off this time, Fern. Pole, Scrubb, detention. Two days."

Fern grinned mischievously. Eustace and Jill, however, grimaced, and Jill even banged her head on the table. Several students looked at them sympathetically. "Well, Scrubb, look at it this way. You'll get a chance to make up with Pole, now, won't you?" Eustace, in a reasonably irritable mood, replied, "Oh, go jump in a lake, Fern. You wouldn't know the difference between a chance and an act to save oneself from death by boredom."

Fern wasn't quite as annoyed as you might think. Though not a girly girl herself, she enjoyed getting people together. No one, especially someone like her, could resist the challenge of getting Eustace and Jill together. And thanks to Mr. Barton, it might actually happen – or at least come one step closer to happening. Nothing could dampen her spirits!

"Nice job, _Alyson_," said a voice into her ear.

Well, nothing except that.

She scowled, but plastered a polite smile over it immediately. "Why, thank you, _David_," she replied smoothly. "Though I would love to stick around and chat with you and your dear ladies-in-waiting," She gestured towards his two lackeys, Edward Francis and Daniel Scarlet. They were too stupid to notice anything, but David – Harrington, by the way – was surprised that the girl was brave enough to insult the two biggest boys in the school. "I have to carry a much more intelligent conversation with a friend of mine. Good day," And with that, she spun on her heel and left in the direction of Harriet Reese, the much smarter twin sister of Harry Reese.

"That girl amazes me," David muttered to himself. Edward and Daniel blinked dumbly. "Huh?"

--

"So…Pole?"

"…"

"Pole? Come on. Talk to me."

"…"

"Please?"

"…"

"You're evil, you know?"

"…"

"Yeah, well, maybe I ought to explain the reason I was with Rose Jackson."

"…"

"See, she was crying behind the gym the other day, so when I found her, I put my arm around her and asked her what was wrong. She told me she was worried about her crush not liking her and things you girls worry about way too much, if you ask me," Jill snorted indignantly, but refused to speak to Eustace.

"So I reassured her after finding out who her crush was. Guess what? She's pining for your little brother, Pole."

"…"

"Phil had told me of his own crush on Jackson himself, so I could say for sure that he liked her, too. And then I gave her advice on how to, um, catch him, you could say – I say, Pole, you're smiling!"

"I am not!"

"Aha! I've gotten you to speak to me again, Pole!"

"What?! I – oh, never mind."

"Does everything make sense now, Pole?"

"Yeah, but why would you know how to catch my little brother?"

"I used my own experience as a guide. A girl I know very well caught me in love's tangle, and I don't think I'm getting out of that tangle any time soon." He smiled at her brightly. "C'mon, then, Pole. Detention's almost over. I'm sure the teacher won't notice anything, judging by the way he's snoring." Eustace pretended to smash a mallet over the sleeping teacher's head, and Jill giggled softly. Everything was right once again in Eustace-and-Jill land.

--

It wasn't, however, in Fern-and-Harrington land.

"Ooh, I just _hate_ him!" Fern said angrily as she punched a large pillow. Jill, propping her head up with her hand as she lay on her bed, raised an eyebrow at her. "Who?"

"That – that – that – " She struggled to find a word to describe her least favourite person. "Imbecile?" Jill suggested. "Thanks. Yes, that _imbecile_, David Harrington!" Jill shrugged. "I rather think he likes you," She said, watching Fern pace in front of her bed angrily. "WHAT? Are you stark raving mad?" Jill's eye twitched, slightly annoyed. "I think I'd know if I was," She said dryly. Fern ignored her. "Harrington just hates me for some reason. That arrogant, egoistical little insect!"

"At least he's not a spy for _Them_."

"He's just as good as one!"

"People can change, Fern. Look at Scrubb. He used to be the nastiest boy in school, apart from _Them_; but look at him now. He's still got his temper, goodness knows, and sometimes he's a bit of a smug know-it-all, but all in all he's much better than back then."

"Yeah, Pole, but that's different!"

"Different how?"

"…"

"That's what I thought. When you're ready to take my advice on how to deal with this presumably 'new' Harrington, you tell me, alright?"

"…Okay, Pole."

There was a silence. Then…

"Pole?"

"Hmm?"

"How can Harrington have changed? He's still just as nasty as he's always been." Jill thought about it. "Well, maybe you have to make him change. If you're nice enough, he might feel guilty about it and change. It helps that you can be rather charming when you want, too."

"Charming?"

"Yeah. Boys are simple-minded creatures. With the right motivation, they'd do anything for you."

"Speaking from experience, Pole? No doubt you've tried it on Scrubb." Fern said, not able to resist the opportunity to tease her roommate. "It was completely accidental!" Jill defended. "Anyway, we're talking about you here. Don't change the subject." She yawned. "Well, I'm going to dress you up tomorrow. It's a Sunday, so there's no need to wear the school uniform. I'll get Scrubb to find Harrington for us so we don't spend the entire day just looking for him."

"And how is Scrubb supposed to find him if we can't?"

"Scrubb's got…connections within the school. If he can't find Harrington, no one can." Fern smiled. "Thanks, Pole." Jill winked at her. "Anything for a friend."

* * *

Heh. Couldn't resist giving Fern a nice antagonist. David Harrington is somewhat oxymoronic, going around with two lackeys like a bully, but thinks that Fern's an interestingly amazing girl. Review, thanks.


End file.
